JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — A former University of Wisconsin football player was sentenced Wednesday to two consecutive life sentences for the 2020 killings of two women, although his sentence gives him a chance to eventually seek early release.
A jury convicted Marcus Randle El in January of two counts of first degree homicide and other charges in the February 2020 shooting deaths of 27-year-old Brittany McAdory and 30-year-old Seairaha Winchester in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Although Randle El’s convictions resulted in two automatic life sentences, Rock County Judge Barbara McCrory said Wednesday that he will be eligible to petition for early release and extended supervision after 60 years, WISC-TV reported.
McCrory noted that it is not a guarantee that if Randle El does eventually seek early release that his request would be granted.
Prosecutors argued that Randle El, who was a wide receiver for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2004 to 2007, killed Winchester after suspecting that she was informing police of his drug dealing and that he killed McAdory to eliminate her as a witness.
Investigators said that while they did not have a murder weapon directly linking Randle El to the slayings, surveillance footage and text messages tied him to the crimes.
The defense argued the state did not meet its burden of proof and called just two witnesses. Randle El declined to testify in his own defense.
He is the brother of former Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Antwaan Randle El.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – Wisconsin’s Marcus Randle El celebrates on his way off the field after Wisconsin beat Indiana 33-3 in a college football game Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)